Now available for download from the the INCOSE website, the Technical Measurement Guide provides information on implementing technical measurement on a project. The guide can be found in the Products and Publications area.

 

The Technical Measurement Guide is the result of a joint project that was conducted between the Practical Software and Systems Measurement (PSM) project, the INCOSE, and various companies, particularly Lockheed Martin.   Technical measurement includes Measures of Effectiveness (MOEs), Measures of Performance (MOPs), and/or Technical Performance Measures (TPMs), as well as their relationships to Key Performance Parameters (KPPs).  Technical measurement is the set of measurement activities used to provide the supplier and/or acquirer insight into progress in the definition and development of the technical solution, ongoing assessment of the associated risks and issues, and the likelihood of meeting the critical objectives of the acquirer.  This insight helps the project management team make better decisions throughout the life cycle to increase the probability of delivering a technical solution that meets both the specified requirements and the mission needs or capabilities.  The insight is also used in trade-off decisions when performance exceeds established thresholds.

 

This guide describes how technical measurement can be applied, using the measurement process described in Practical Software and Systems Measurement, which is the basis for much of the INCOSE measurement guidance (INCOSE is part of the PSM project team).  Lessons learned in the areas of establishing commitment, planning, and performing measurement are identified.  All information is intended to reflect actual proven practice.  Thus, a major source of information for this guide was the set of responses to a questionnaire distributed to a broad portion of the systems engineering community.